24 volts for my hatch actuator
 

Can I wire my linear actuator with 24 volts to get it to rise faster? If so how do I do it? Right now I have 2 batteries on my boat and they are connected in parllel and are also connected to a battery switch. A switch that allows me to use either bat1 or 2 or both.

Do I need a 3rd bat and another switch?

Will my actuator go faster with 24 volts?

You'll burn it up. Buy from CP performance or other, a hatch actuator accelerator kit. It makes your hatch rise faster. $79.00

Anybody know what's inside this accelerator box? Is there something more than just 2 Bosch 30Amp relays for $79.00?

Eddie Marine offers them too. Not sure the cost. Had similar problems on our boats.

If you wanted to try it you would have to disconnect the parallel connection then hook them up in series. You most likely will burn it out and do not hook up your boat to the 24V. If it works OK to permenently hook it up you would need another battery or only have one for starting and two for the actuator.

The hatch relays just shortin the legnth of wire to the motor of the hatch lift. This will provide a boost in voltage but no more than your battery can provide. It simply reduces the voltage drop on the wiring to your dash and back by having your wiring trigger the relay rather than the hatch lift.

Do a search in the Powerquest forum, theirs a lot of info on that subject.

thats pretty much it ...... but the package is nice ....:cool:

Diagram ...

I built my own kit mounted in an old VCR tape box, all sealed and potted in silicone. It was fun. Relays cost me 2.50 each and harness was about 4.00. Re-used old switch by connecting to different polls. Total cost;
6 beers
$9.00
1.5 hours

See my actuator is just slow even if I connect it directly to the battery. so I am sure adding a relay wont help me.

The guy I use to rebuild starters and alternators suggested the I try the 24v method. His reasoning was if he rewires a tractor from 6v and converts to 12v he doesnt change out the 6 v starter. He felt that if it was somthing used for extended periods and used every day then maybe it wasnt a godd idea. But I only paid 80dollars for my actuator.

the only problem with wiring it up for 24v is that you wouldnt be able to ground the secondary battery to the main grounding system of the boat.....you would take the voltage for the actuator from the positive side of the original battery and leave all the rest of the wiring the same....then add you second battery (to make the 24v) in series...meaning you run the positive wire from this new battery to the neg side of the iriginal battery....then you will take the neg output of this new battery and go straight tot he actuator....keep it sepperate from the main grounding circuit or youll fry other parts of the boat out....

OK this is stupid. Ill just live with it being too dam slow.

Thanks

I recently added headers to my boat and I noticed that the original angle was not the most desired for proper leavreage I adjusted the angle with minimal results ,the other thing is the distance of the actuator and gauge of wire play a big factor here also.
The easiest way to explain it is when you jump a car with skinny jumper wire it wont even crank over, same situation thicker wire cranks right over. It wont cost much either to try.

The relays are able to handle the higher current draw without a reduction in voltage. If you were to replace your hatch circuit with a 20A switch and at least 8 ga wire, you may be able to achieve the same thing without the relays. The relays allow you to keep your 14-18ga control wiring to control the relays, but the hatch motor will run off of the larger conductors you install closer to the batteries in the engine compartment.

Think of it as a starter solenoid...same theory and operation. Only you need a relay for up and another for down.

Good Luck!

Stupid redneck fix. If when wired straight to the battery as you say it is still slow then your motor is underpowered, geometry wrong for the weight etc. Figure out how much downforce the hatch has in lbs at the point of contact. Go to auto parts store and get a gas spring of correct length and attach it to the ram such that it helps it up. As long as it has enough pull to overcome the gas spring it should go up much faster.

No thats not my problem. The problem is the gearing in the actuator. the gearing is so low that it goes up very slow. This is shown when I have no load on the actuator. but thanks for your suggestion

If you would decide to use the 24V either change your fuse to half the amps it was at 12V, or wire in a breaker that is half the amps. You don't want anything in the boat going poof.